Beach Volleyball

Brazil's duo of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa finished on top of the podium by defeating Canada in the gold medal match during the 2024 Summer Olympics on Friday.

It took three sets for the result to be decided before the Brazilian team triumphed over Canada's Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes. They won the first set 26-14 and dropped the second set 21-12 before eventually taking the final set by the score of 15-10.

#Gold shines on Brazil! 🇧🇷

An incredible victory for Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa in women's beach volleyball! 🏐@timebrasil | @fivbvolleyball | #Beachvolleyball | #Paris2024 | #Samsung | #TogetherforTomorrow pic.twitter.com/zr6ovs9jee

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 9, 2024

Earlier in the day, Switzerland's Nina Brunner and Tanja Huerberli defeated Australia to win bronze.

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Medal Winners

Gold: Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa, Brazil

Silver: Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes, Canada

Bronze: Nina Brunner and Tanja Huerberli, Switzerland

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Brazil's duo captured the country's first gold in the event since 1996. The pair already represented one of the top beach volleyball tandems in the world prior to the Paris Games, although an Olympic medal eluded them.

They previously qualified for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, although they weren't able to finish on the podium. Now, they're bringing gold medals back home.

Tensions were high during the third set between Canada and Brazil, as Wilkerson and Ana Patricia both received yellow cards following an argument.

Although the Canadian team was unable to win the final match of the competition, Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes still made history on Friday.

Their silver medal represented the first-ever podium finish for Canada at the women's competition. It also marked the second beach volleyball medal finish for the country as a whole, as the men's team of John Child and Mark Heese won bronze in 1996.

It initially appeared as if Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes wouldn't have a shot at a medal after finishing with a 1-2 record in pool play. However, they didn't drop another match until Friday and defeated Switzerland in the semifinals.

Men's beach volleyball will wrap up on Saturday, as France will face off against Poland in the gold medal match at 7 a.m. ET.

Former NBA forward Chase Budinger will represent the United States in men's beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Tape Media shared a video of Budinger and volleyball partner Miles Evans learning they qualified for the Summer Games.

Former Arizona basketball star Chase Budinger just secured one of the final spots on the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball roster! 🇺🇸🏐

Budinger and teammate Miles Evans are going to Paris this summer!

(🎥 Tape Media/IG) pic.twitter.com/rS7Spvc4OK

— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) June 5, 2024

Under the Olympic qualifying rules, the United States was afforded up to two teams as long as they finished among the top 17 in the provisional rankings.

On the men's side, the pair of Miles Partain and Andy Benesh were all but assured of a spot thanks to sitting fifth in the FIVB world ranking. The last berth came down to a battle between Budinger/Evans and the tandem of Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb.

This will be Budinger's first appearance in the Olympics.

The 36-year-old had a solid career on the hardwood. He averaged 17.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in his three seasons at Arizona. Then he spent seven years in the NBA across spells with the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns.

Budinger's volleyball skills were routinely cited, though, to the point where some thought it was his best sport. He was the Mizuno Player of the Year in boys' volleyball in 2006 and held Olympic ambitions back then.

Budinger retired from basketball and began a full-time volleyball career in 2018. Those efforts have paid off in a big way.

The United States is the class of women's beach volleyball once again. 

Five years after the U.S. was dethroned at the Rio Olympics, the first-time pairing of April Ross and Alix Klineman captured the gold medal in straight sets, winning 21-15, 21-16 and without any real sign of trouble over the course of the 43-minute match. 

The A-Team wins GOLD!@AprilRossBeach. @alixklineman. CHAMPS. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/9sbZb0djK7

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 6, 2021

It's the fourth gold medal in women's beach volleyball for the United States and the first that didn't feature either Misty May-Treanor or Kerri Walsh Jennings on the court. Jennings was paired with Ross in 2016 when their bid for a fourth consecutive gold ended with bronze. 

Redemption was only an Olympiad away.

The U.S. now has more gold medals in the sport (4) than every other country combined (3). 

Thursday's match point in Japan didn't even require much of the Americans. Their Australian counterparts—Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy—ended their quest for gold by serving the ball straight into the net.

Also for Aus to lose on a service error. 🙃🙃🙃🙃

Serves aint never been loyal.

— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) August 6, 2021

It was one of 14 total errors by the silver medalists, who dropped the first set when their serve went out of bounds. 

Yet the USA was in control from start to finish. The Americans took a 12-6 lead in the first set, then raced out to a 14-5 lead in the second. Along the way, Ross and Klineman combined for seven aces and outscored Australia 42-31 overall. 

Five years after a disappointing bronze, the U.S. is back on top of the podium, and history says it may not be giving it up any time soon. 

Kerri Walsh Jennings’ and April Ross’ magical run at the 2015 Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball in Long Beach, California, came to a halt in the championship match against the dominant Larissa and Talita of Brazil.

The 21-18, 21-16 win in straight sets was the eighth victory in 13 FIVB events for the recently paired Larissa and Talita. The Brazilian duo only led 12-10 in the back-and-forth second set before closing the Americans out with a strong push at the end.

The FIVB World Tour passed along the triumphant scenes after the winning point:

https://twitter.com/FIVBWorldTour/status/635536632431509504

https://twitter.com/FIVBWorldTour/status/635552865025523712

While Larissa and Talita took home the title, Ross earned MVP recognition for the World Series. Walsh Jennings is a legend in the volleyball circuit, but Ross had to carry the team for stretches during this tournament because of injury.

As Nick Zaccardi of NBC OlympicTalk noted, this was Walsh Jennings’ first appearance on the FIVB World Tour since July 10, when she dislocated her right shoulder a second time in the span of two months (the same shoulder has been operated on four times in her career). She played the entire tournament with tape on that shoulder and was forced to serve underhanded and take a one-handed approach on a number of shots.

The Americans fought through that adversity all the way to the finals, but the combination of Larissa and Talita was too much, as Walsh Jennings said on the broadcast, per Zaccardi:

“Today was a lesson. We played the best team in the world.”

It was a fitting championship match considering both the Americans and Brazilians won four tournaments on the FIVB World Tour last season. Walsh Jennings and Ross were also the defending champions in Long Beach, but they did not have to play Larissa and Talita in 2014.

In fact, Sunday was only the second time the two teams squared off head-to-head, and the Brazilians are 2-0 (the other was a one-set exhibition).

The question now is whether volleyball fans will get a chance to see this showdown in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Zaccardi said Sunday’s matchup “could determine the early favorite for Rio 2016 gold,” and the Brazilians took full advantage.

From the Americans’ perspective, Walsh Jennings’ health is a concern moving forward. She was clearly limited in Long Beach, and it is difficult to envision a victory over Larissa and Talita if she is less than 100 percent. The silver lining is she has time to recover before the actual Olympics.

Walsh Jennings also has three Olympic gold medals on her resume with ex-playing partner Misty May-Treanor. The duo won 21 consecutive Olympic matches on the way to titles in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and even beat Ross and Jennifer Kessy in the gold medal match in 2012.

Following the retirement of May-Treanor, Ross and Walsh Jennings teamed up in 2013, and they would both likely feel more than comfortable under the bright spotlight of the Rio Olympics given their rich history on their sport’s biggest stage.

They learned Sunday, though, that they will need more than experience to beat the red-hot pairing of Larissa and Talita.

The 2015 ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball, which kicked off earlier in the week, will reach its conclusion this weekend in Long Beach, California.

The World Series' official site called the event a celebration of "all things beach," with a number of competitions open to amateurs running in tandem with the pro tournament.

While the mood in Long Beach may be festive, the importance of the World Series isn't lost on the competitors, who are looking to book a ticket to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Here's a brief look ahead to the next few days of action.

TV Schedule

Time (ET)		TV Info
Saturday
4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.	Men's or Women's Semifinal	NBC
Sunday
3 a.m.-4 a.m.	Men's Semifinal #1	Universal Sports Network
4 a.m.-5 a.m.	Men's Semifinal #2	Universal Sports Network
5 a.m.-6 a.m.	Women's Semifinal #2	Universal Sports Network
1 p.m.-2 p.m.	Women's Bronze	Universal Sports Network
2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.	Men's or Women's Gold	NBC
4 p.m.-5 p.m.	Men's Bronze	Universal Sports Network
5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.	Men's Gold	Universal Sports Network

Preview

Misty May-Treanor has retired from competitive volleyball, but her old playing partner, Kerri Walsh Jennings, has her eyes on a place in Brazil a year from now.

Walsh Jennings and April Ross entered Long Beach looking for a good result after Walsh Jennings dislocated her shoulder for the second time in two months in July. As a result of those injuries, she and Ross have lost quite a bit of ground in the race for an Olympic spot, and they're running out of time to catch up to the rest of the competition.

Walsh Jennings' desperation to get healthy for World Series was evident as she told USA Today's Ava Wallace of her daily rehab:

I do maybe an hour and a half on my shoulder every day of physical work. But then I’ll do a laser, I’m sleeping on a magnet (to promote blood flow), I’ve gotten PRP injections (platelet rich plasma therapy, a procedure that relieves pain and accelerates the healing process), and then I’m getting physical work on the rest of my body for the rest of my day too. I’m using a cold laser and lots of ice. Any apparatus that I can use to heal, I’m doing.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Daily Breeze noted the 37-year-old is also trying to compensate for the injury on the sand:

Walsh Jennings/Ross take first set over the German team. Walsh Jennings, coming off a dislocated shoulder, serving underhand today. #WSOBV

— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) August 19, 2015

Walsh Jennings didn't appear to be too much the worse for wear, as she and Ross went a perfect 3-for-3 in pool play. They earned the top spot in Pool H with six points and subsequently beat Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Verge-Depre in straight sets, 21-13, 21-16, in the second knockout round.

Forrer and Verge-Depre are also the current owners of the last Olympic qualifying spot, so the win was even bigger for Walsh Jennings and Ross in that regard.

Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas are the tournament's top seeds, and they lived up to the hype after going 3-0 in pool play. But they ran into trouble Friday in the form of Miller Pata and Linline Matauatu in the second round.

Pata and Matauatu prevailed in three sets, 21-12, 19-21, 15-13, in one of the biggest shocks of the World Series.

The men's draw opened up a little more as well, after the top-seeded duo of Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson exited in pool play. They finished dead last in Pool A, going 1-2 in their three matches.

Patterson wondered if the amount of exposure he and Gibb receive has provided a little help to the competition.

"We were playing very well for most of the year," he said Thursday, per Bob Keisser of the Orange County Register. "But when you’re ranked number (nine) in the world, everybody else is watching you. They’re watching film and gathering data. You can find all of our matches on YouTube. Other teams are trying to get better and improve."

While the departures of Gibb and Patterson opens the door for another team, it also makes the road to the World Series title that much easier for Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt. The Brazilians sit atop the men's provisional Olympic rankings.

With plenty of upsets already in the tournament, Cerutti and Schmidt won't be able to rest on their laurels.

Note: Full schedules for the men's draw and women's draw are available on the FIVB's official site.

The world of sports does not exist in a vacuum. It shares the planet with politics, economics, religion, sociology, and just about every other 'ology' mankind knows.

That planet is not well these days; the earth is bleeding.

The sadness brought on by the oil disaster in the Caribbean may have only just begun; and as the powers that be sit on their asses and point fingers as if figuring who's at fault is finding a solution, the news just keeps getting worse.

Sports is a sanctuary for escapists in times like these, a welcome diversion from painful reality. This tragedy, however, will spill into our asylum and blacken even our holiest of getaways. If humanity doesn't get a handle on the situation soon, the black tide could crawl up the bayou, around to the East Coast and Gulf Coast, and drift throughout the entire Caribbean—to each and every island and beach.

Fishing

Many people don't think of fishing as a sport, but rather an exercise in a survival skill older than man. Sure, competitive bass pros have their place, but fishing is a sport that almost any individual can enjoy. Even without catching a sardine, the experience teaches patience, discipline, and respect for nature.

Now, the beaches and waterways of the Gulf Coast are being bathed in crude, and not catching a fish might be one's best possible outcome.

Southern States

Yes this ecological calamity will spread, but the South it seems, will be hit the hardest. Hurricane season will likely spit the crude all over the coast.

New Orleans (Saints, Hornets), Tampa Bay (Buccaneers, Rays, Lightning),  Miami (Dolphins, Marlins, Heat, Panthers), and Houston (Texans, Astros, Rockets), may find themselves on the front line of this tragedy. Their coastal cities are likely to feel the effects, and could really use the support of their professional sports teams. The SEC and ACC will also need to do their very best to keep spirits up.

The Caribbean

Hispaniola produces some amazing athletes. I couldn't count the number of baseball players that have come out of the Dominican Republic with an abacus. Pierre Garçon is one of several athletes who has come from Haiti as well. Much US aid will be focused on the Gulf Coast, and players from the island will be called upon to aid their homeland.

Cuba is gonna be pissed. There's no real way around it. Like most islands in the Caribbean, Cuba depends heavily on the ocean for much of its nation's nutrition. Cuba, however, has had a trade embargo in place since 1960. Aid to Cuba from the US for this disaster is not likely.

Beach Volleyball

Ah, yes. There may be no sweeter sight than watching Misty May-Treanor spike through a block. The beaches, however, are becoming rather unsightly from the crude as it washes in. In Prince William Sound, Alaska, where the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.8 million gallons in 1989, one can still find crude in the sand just inches below the surface. This would make the Fort Lauderdale Open a lot less sexy.

Surfing

Okay, so it's not exactly Mavericks, but there are ridable waves all over the Caribbean. Actually, they're much more ridable than the killer cove in Half Moon Bay. Surfers have been at the forefront of keeping the oceans clean since the beginning of the sport, and will almost certainly continue the tradition in this time of crisis.

Everything else

Water skiing, wake boarding, swimming, sand castle building, you name it. No man is an island, and this problem is shared by all.

Synopsis

Why write this grim article? I was looking ahead to the September 20th Monday Night Football game, when the 49ers host the New Orleans Saints, when it occurred to me that there may be bigger issues for the city of New Orleans (again) at that time. We can only hope and pray that this mess is dealt with by then and that the effects aren't as apocalyptic as they've seemed recently.

Pointing fingers doesn't put out a fire. Blame is an irresponsible man's game, and it's a burden to be sorted out when the crisis ends. In the meantime, those who give us spectators our mental vacations of sport and leisure may need to be both counted on and consoled.

To dull the suffering, we may indulge, but we are to all remember that no sport, no athlete, no fan, and no man—lives in a vacuum.

Today tennis is being played at a standard of athleticism and fitness never seen before. There is, however, always room for growth, and other sports may show the way. This is the third in a five-part series examining such possibilities.

Why: Both men’s and women’s tennis once had clear-cut dichotomies in playing style: The aggressive net-rusher (think John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova) against the defensive-minded baseliner (Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert).

As racket technology progressed, the baseliners divided into those who were more defensive-minded (Michael Chang and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario) and those who used their groundstrokes offensively (Andre Agassi and Monica Seles).

Classic serve and volley tennis has largely disappeared from both the men’s and women’s tours; phased out by today’s baseliners (Roger Federer and the Williams sisters), who are capable of great movement, huge serving and heavy groundstrokes.

In the women’s game, one phase of this evolution was skipped entirely: what I like to call the Pure Power Player (PPP), who served huge, had flat, hard groundies, a very good volley, and a net-rushing mentality. Their movement was also good, but used offensively; every one of their shots was designed to hit a winner.

What woman fits this bill that has won majors? Non-slam winner Brenda Schultz-McCarthy doesn’t count; among champions, Navratilova is the closest to fitting the bill.

Physical Characteristics: At 6’3, professional volleyball player Gabrielle Reece combines size and athleticism rarely seen in women’s tennis.

Though mainly known for her modeling career (YouTube features an untold number of videos related to her modeling career, plus her exercise routines and media appearances, but scarcely any of her playing volleyball) and perhaps a brief relationship with Superman, her sports statistics are what put her on this list.

Reece is the same height as the original PPP, Becker. Though it is rather unlikely that she could achieve the kind of serving power Boom-Boom used to attain, her status as a former Women’s Beach Volleyball League’s leader in kills (as well as blocks) suggests that, had she trained for tennis from a young age, her serve, overhead and net coverage would be highly formidable.
At 6’3, slightly taller than Lindsey Davenport (6’ 2 1⁄2"), defensive movement would probably not be her strength, but few PPP’s, from Becker to Sampras to Tsonga, have made defense the core of their games.

Mental Characteristics: With its nearly year-round schedule, tennis requires a degree of commitment that many other sports do not. Though they are roundly criticized for not focusing on the sport, it’s actually a credit to the Williams sisters that they are able to maintain such a busy life away from tennis and still win majors.

Reece has also known a great deal of success as a model, an actress, and in producing exercise videos for expectant mothers. Would a player of her pedigree be cut from the same cloth as the sisters, capturing Wimbledons regularly despite a full schedule away from the court? If not, an athlete of her competitive nature would probably elect to focus on tennis, at least during her prime playing years.

Either way, athletes of Reece’s size will probably be seen near the top of women’s tennis eventually.

A Note: On Thursday I’ll be back with part four, featuring the Roger Federer of running backs.

For Part 1, Usain Bolt, click here.
For Part 2, Lance Armstrong, click here. 

Well the Olympics are over and most of the fringe sports thrust into the spotlight of the sporting world will soon be forgotten. I want to make sure one sport isn't:

Volleyball.

If you want a sport that involves the fast scoring pace, athleticism,and a mixture of tennis, then volleyball is the sport for you to both play and watch.

I understand that most people play volleyball in the off-season from football or basketball if they have the time in high school. I, however, play volleyball full-time at my high school in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada.

I love volleyball and play for my JV team. I want to share this wonderful and fast paced game of volleyball with everyone. Here are the basics:

Types of Volleyball

Beach

Beach volleyball can be played with two-six players, usually with an even number of players on each side of the net. They are mens, womens and mixed competition.

In the Olympics they feature the two-on-two style of beach volleyball, which is the most common. The superstar tandem of Misty May and Kerri Walsh have dominated the women's game for the last four years and are currently on a 108-game win streak.

The outdoor beach volleyball game also features the luxury of every player being able to make a kill at any time from any spot on the court, adding more difficulty and athleticism to the game.

Indoor

The Indoor is played with six players on each team and has different rules from the beach game. For example, only the three front row players in the rotation can play the ball above the net into the opponent's side of the court, ahead of the attack line.

The three back row players need to jump from behind the attack line if they want to make a spike attack.

Only one person can sub into the game for each of the six positions on the volleyball court. The positions are front/back row power, front/back row middle, and front/back row setter.

The exception to the rule is the Libero, a player who specializes in defensive passes and wears a different color of jersey. This player can sub into the game for any of the six positions, but cannot serve or make any pass/spike over the net into the opponents side of the court.

The two types of main tournaments are the FIVB World Championships, held every four years. The Summer Olympics are held every four years as well.

Lingo

Kill- When a player jumps and makes contact with the ball, usually with one hand, above the net into the opponents side of play. Also known as a spike.

Bump- An underarm pass used with the two forearms on any pass from neck height or lower, usually it is the first of the three passes allowed in the game of volleyball. Also called a dig, it usually involves a player diving. Dgs can also be done with one arm, but most coaches teach diving bumps.

Sets- This is almost always the second pass in the sequence, and sets up the aforementioned kill. There is usually at least one player on the court who specializes in "setting" up the other five players for kills.

The set consists of the player making the "Jay-Z" sign with the hands spread about a inch apart and pushing upwards with their hands and legs before the ball lands on the players head.

6-Pack- When a volleyball player takes a spike to the face. While it is never good to hit a player intentionally in the face with the ball in other sports, the "6-Pack" is often a huge turning point in momentum in a volleyball game.

The Positions

Power- Plays on the left side of the court, also called outside players. These players usually take high sets allowing them to take longer approaches, therefore giving them more momentum and stronger hits. I play this position and let me tell you this is the most fun position in the game.

Middle- These guys are usually the tallest and most agile players on the team. They perform low sets that are almost literally hit out of the setter's hands. They also block on both the right and left side of the net when playing the front row. They also help out the outside and opposite side players with their blocking duties.

Opposite Side- Usually one of these players is the setter on the team, the other one is strictly a hitter. The setter directs the offense and decides where each set is going to go and who will get to spike the ball.

The opposite side hitter will either play defense while back row, and block and spike when in the front, like the power and middle positions.

Formations for Indoor

4-2- Four hitters and two setters. This is most popular in beginners play.

6-2- Basically a 4-2, but the setter always comes from the back row to set. This allows for six possible hitting options.

5-1- Basically a fusion of the 4-2 and 6-2 with one player assuming the setting responsibilities. This allows for three setting options ahead of the attack line and the advantage of the setter being able to dump or tip the ball over the line when the opponents aren't on their toes.

I hope you are better informed of the game of volleyball after reading this. Don't be afraid to ask any questions as there is more about this game than my brief description.